ROCHESTER — The latest release from New Hampshire Employment Security indicates that the state’s economy continued to strengthen in March, with an unadjusted unemployment rate of 4.9 percent. This was down from 5.2 percent in February and better than the 5.6 percent of a year ago.

The NHES’s seasonally adjusted numbers look even better, for they remove such factors as bad weather, in making these estimates. In this case the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for March was 4.5 percent.

There is another aspect to unemployment numbers, however, and this is the size of the state’s labor force.

“From February 2014 to March 2014, the total labor force increased by 1,680 to 746,280. This was an increase of 2,990 from March 2013,” says the NHES release, giving another indication of a growing economy.

However, as our accompanying chart shows, using NHES archived figures, the labor force has only grown by 3,393 in the past six years, while it grew by an average of over 62,500 every six years in the periods spanning 1978 to 2008.

Where have all the workers gone, the Rochester Times enquired earlier this year, noting that the steadily climbing labor force graph line had flattened out in the last few years?

Census bureau figures show that the state’s population growth has also slowed very noticeably since the onset of the recession in 2008. In the 30 years from 1978 to 2008, New Hampshire’s population had grown by an average of over 14,000 people annually.

From 2008 to 2013 (the last year of available estimates), though, NH’s population has only risen from 1,316,000 to 1,323,000, or less than 1,500 people a year on average.

Added to this, the current U-3 jobless rate (as it appears above) is running well below the U-6 jobless rate, which includes so-called “discouraged workers” who are not counted in the U-3 labor force.

In March the NHES’s Current Employment Statistics, which is an employer-based survey of jobs in New Hampshire, concurred with the improving trend above.

In March there were 544,500 private sector jobs in the state , which is up 2,100 over the month and 9,600 over the year. This is just a couple of thousand fewer private sector jobs than in March 2008, prior to the recession.

This March there were 19,700 Construction jobs, which is up 500 over the month but down 500 over March 2013, when the weather was kinder.

The Manufacturing sector now has 66,100 workers, which is unchanged over the month but up 700 over the year.

Retail, often a barometer of public confidence, employed 95,300 people in March, which is up 400 over the month and up 3,600 over the year.

Health Care and Social Assistance employed 87,100 people in March — up 700 over the month and up 1,000 over the year.

The Leisure and Hospitality sector, which includes tourism, now has 61,000 workers. This is down 500 people from February, but 500 more than a year ago.

Government — federal, state and local — currently employs 93,500 workers, which is up 600 over the month but down 400 since March 2013.

The largest change within this group is with local government (excluding educational services). Cities and towns employed 23,600 people in March, which is up 600 over the month and up 900 over the year.

For a full breakdown of the job sectors visit http://www.nhes.nh.gov/elmi/statistics/ces-data.htm and click on Over-the-month.